Clarification sought in effort to stop El Paso City Hall demolition

El Paso City Hall with Insights Museum building at Santa Fe and Missouri in foreground. (Rudy Gutierrez/El Paso Times)

A federal judge on Friday heard arguments but made no ruling on a lawsuit that seeks to halt the city's plans to demolish City Hall to make way for a baseball stadium.

The lawsuit, filed by former Mayor Ray Salazar, David Ochoa and Jesús Ochoa, seeks a permanent injunction ordering the city not to tear down City Hall.

The plaintiffs also want the decision of tearing down City Hall to go to the voters and have launched two petitions to force the city government to have an election. The wording of the petition became an issue in the hearing.

U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama asked the plaintiffs' attorney, Fernando Chacón, to submit a brief by Wednesday that clarifies the intended ballot language of a second petition spearheaded by Quality of Life Voters for Democracy that aims to call an election in May 2013.

Reporter Hayley Kappes

The city clerk's office is under a Dec. 4 deadline to verify signatures collected on the second petition.

Guaderrama said he would issue an opinion on the lawsuit as soon as he could, but he had concerns about granting the plaintiffs' wish to stop the demolition before City Clerk Richarda Momsen had verified the petition signatures.

"Should I issue an injunction now if there's not enough signatures?" Guaderrama asked. "I would look foolish."

City Council members in September voted against accepting an initial petition circulated by Quality of Life Voters for Democracy that would have put the ballpark construction on a quality-of-life referendum that voters approved on Nov. 6.

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The plaintiffs are claiming their constitutional and voting rights were violated because the City Council -- not voters -- approved building a $50 million ballpark.

The lawsuit also alleges that City Manager Joyce Wilson's personal and political activities "are grounded in an animus which she feels and displays" toward Hispanics.

Chacon's line of questioning with David and Jesus Ochoa, who are not related, centered on racial overtones and whether the decision by the City Council not to allow voters to approve the ballpark was racial in nature.

Both said yes.

"My feeling of racism was affirmed one thousand percent," Jesus Ochoa said from the witness stand. "That is why the allegation of racism is part of this process."

Lowell Denton, the city's attorney, argued there was no federal jurisdiction in the lawsuit since the right to petition for ballot initiatives comes from state and local laws.

Denton also said the City Council's efforts to demolish City Hall to make room for the ballpark had nothing to do with racism.

"It has to do with what's right for the city," Denton said. "The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit to besmirch the reputations of many city employees."

The city plans to tear down City Hall and the Insights El Paso Science Center as early as March 31 to make way for a stadium, which will house a Triple-A baseball team bought by a group of private investors.

The City Council in June approved building the ballpark if MountainStar Sports Group of El Paso bought a Triple-A minor league team.

MountainStar Sports has bought the Tucson Padres, the affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The group will lease the city-owned ballpark.

The team is expected to move to El Paso in 2014.

Hayley Kappes may be reached at hkappes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6168. Follow her on Twitter @hayleykappes